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The CITE, a blog published by the National Association of College Stores, takes a look at the intersection of education and technology, highlighting issues that range from course materials to learning delivery to the student experience. Comments, discussion, feedback, and ideas are welcome.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

MOOCs for 'Generation Distracted'

Like all college classes, massive open
online courses (MOOCs) require a commitment to complete. That was an issue for
Coursmos, the educational platform designed for “Generation Distracted”,
according to its website.

The company reasoned that the time it took
students to sit through online lectures that went on for weeks could be why completion
rates for MOOCs were so low.
Its solution was to develop more than 900 free micro-courses that allow
students to learn concepts in short bursts through videos that run no longer
than 10 minutes.

“[With Coursmos,] students get specific
answers to specific questions,” Maria Davalos, Coursmos customer development
manager, told eCampus News.
“The courses are made by successful professionals who are practicing this knowledge
on a daily basis.”

The company started in October 2013, when
it made micro-courses available through iPhone and Android apps. The website
was launched in March and includes subjects ranging from cooking to lifestyles,
although its main focus is business-related courses.

Students sign up through their Facebook or
email accounts and all courses are available to view without registration.
Users that do register are offered personalized course recommendations with
their accounts.

“We try to make the user interface simple,”
Davalos said. “Anybody can get the app and try to create a course with the
app.”